Monday was a momentous and historic day in Minnesota. This panoramic photo was taken Monday, May 13, 2013 in the capitol rotunda during the afternoon while the Senate debated the bill and the crowd anticipates passage.

I’m very pleased to announce that my panoramic photograph of the wonderful cloister at Bad Wimpfen, Germany has been accepted for the 2012 Fine Arts Exhibition at the Minnesota State Fair! The photo will be on display during the State Fair from August 23–September 3, 2012 in the Fine Arts Building.

Almost certainly Higgs! A conference at CERN, the site of the Large Hadron Collider, on the border of Switzerland and France, recently unveiled current and ongoing results of two experiments, each a collaboration of thousands of scientists around the world. The Large Hadron Collider is the world’s largest particle accelerator, capable of smashing particle beams into one another at incredible energies. The CMS and ATLAS experiments watched the results, and they’ve both found something.

Father Anonymous at Magdalene’s Egg recently posted about faculty changes at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, which will shortly be completing its merger with Lenoir-Rhyne University. In the process of the merger, three faculty members will be leaving, their positions being eliminated. A little background is in order for any who may not be familiar with these institutions. Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (LTSS) is one of the eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). It is located in Columbia, South Carolina. It has a history going back to 1830. Founded in 1891, Lenoir-Rhyne University is located in Hickory, North Carolina. It is a college of the ELCA. Facing…

I’ve just published a collection of photographs from the beautiful, charming, and historic town of Bad Wimpfen, Germany. Bad Wimpfen: Photographs from a Southern German Town takes you on a tour through the medieval gothic monastery church and cloister and into the historic center of this small town in Germany’s southern state of Baden-Württemburg.

Within the town of Bad Wimpfen is a church of ancient foundation and an associated, beautiful monastic cloister. This is the location of my previously featured cloister panorama. Parts of the church building date to the 10th century, while much of the church and cloister was built in the 13th through 15th centuries. This architectural gem was a pleasure to photograph and explore. Gallery: Monastery Cloister and Church, Bad Wimpfen, Germany

Bad Wimpfen is a lovely, small town in the southern German state of Baden-Württemburg, and it is blessed by a well preserved historic architecture with a good many survivals, and overall character, from the medieval period. From a 19th century, romantic train station to many half-timber buildings and remains from a former imperial palace, there is much to explore in this beautiful town. Gallery: Bad Wimpfen, Germany

The summer’s trip to Europe included a day in Heidelberg, which was a very enjoyable city. Heidelberg is the seat of Germany’s oldest and first university. It is also home to a good deal of picturesque architecture, a iconic city gate, and a ruined castle on the hill above the old city. Gallery: Heidelberg

At long last, I begin to roll out my photos from my days this summer in southern Germany. The first set is a small but beautiful one: flowers and vineyards from near Heilbronn. Gallery: Vineyards and Flowers in Germany